Benefit bike ride helps HIV/AIDS patients

Four hundred people from all over the state recently biked 165 miles from Miami to Key West for the SMART Ride 9 to help raise money for HIV/AIDS programs.

The annual two-day bike ride raised more than $880,000, which was donated to seven organizations, including the Children's Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Fort Lauderdale and the Pride Center in Wilton Manors.

"We're very excited to be able to participate," said Marie Hayes, director of the Lauderdale center's Comprehensive Family AIDS Program. "The whole event is an amazing experience. People from all over the country come in to raise funds to help people living with HIV, and Broward County is number one in new transmissions. It's a significant problem. This is sorely needed."

The center provides services to 1,300 HIV-positive people a year, Hayes said.

The $146,000 it received from the SMART Ride will be used for medical care and lab work for uninsured and newly identified patients, transportation to improve access to care, nutritional support, health education and emergency assistance, she said.

"If someone needs to start care but they don't have an ID, we're able to help them," Hayes said. "Oftentimes it's something small, but if you don't have all the pieces, you can't do it, and these funds make it easier for them to access the care that they need."

Each rider who participates in the SMART Ride is required to raise at least $1,250, although most raise close to $2,000, said Glen Weinzimer, the ride's founder.

What makes the ride unique is that 100 percent of the proceeds are guaranteed to go to the agencies, he said. Organizations are chosen through an open application process and have to provide direct services to people with HIV/AIDS.

"We see where the money we give will bring the most difference," Weinzimer said. "For most agencies, this is the largest fundraiser that's not a government agency."